Demarchy / Sortition / Klerostocracy

The following are a few links about the curious idea of demarchy - drawing representatives by lot.

Short overview by Donna L. Quesinberry.

Wikipedia entry.

Healthy link page on "Sortition Democracy."

Mid-length, easy-reading analysis of the concept.

Your own further research on the issue may be more insightful than anything else said here.

Demarchy might have a place in the House of Commons. In that lesser role it's compatible with hereditary monarchy, an aristocratic peerage, and the general presumptions of Anglo-Saxon Common Law.

The reduction in electioneering is always nice, although there might be some benefit to allowing Ministers an attempt to survive a recall vote every two years. If they win, let them stay two more years. If they lose, draw a new name from the hat.

And like hereditary monarchy (and maybe more so), demarchy removes ambition from politics. Unlike elected representatives, the demarchic Minister doesn't get to Washington because he has the biggest fangs or the biggest lust for Mammon.

Of course we shan't forget that the demarchic Commons and the hereditary Lords should still only function primarily as a veto on the King, not as legislators.

McCatholic sighting

I can't help but think that someone has been reading T&A.

St. cPeter's? That's my schtick.

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Incidentally, sorry for the 10 days off posting; it's been a busy August. New job, yadda yadda.

More is in the pipe. Actually interesting, too.

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I am having this terrible sense of deja vu, has this been posted before?

Even the U.N.'s holidays are tacky

How did we miss this? Yesterday was Indigenous People's Day! "Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day!" Rolls right off the tongue ...

It seems that nobody can agree on the date. Is this one of those movable holidays? Is it different in the Julian year? Who knows?

If you happen to be strolling through London this week, make sure to wish a Muslim a "Merrie Indigenous Peoples' Day."

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Is sarcasm halal? You'd better duck.

Eastern problems and a cry for Eastern help

Taking another horrifying trip to see the in-laws next weekend outside The Rotten Apple.

There is, at least, the satisfaction of being able to attend a Ruthenian church.

Have you ever attended a Ruthenian Liturgy in downstate New York? Much friendlier than your average Ukrainian Byzantine parish. And it's funny to see a traditionally Slavic branch of Christendom packed full of swarthy Sicilian types chanting with heavy Noo Yawk accents.

Yet, the tradition isn't there - the Latinizations are severe, the downside of openness. So it seems that, in the Eastern half of things, there is an inverse relationship between tradition and friendliness. One by necessity increases as the other decreases.

It's democracy's fault, not theirs. Let's do a little classical reasoning:

• GIVEN: Priests, in the democratic mindset, typically timidly defer to parishioners.
• GIVEN: Any Catholic may register in any parish, regardless of sui iuris status, without joining that sui iuris Church.
• GIVEN: Native Easterners are a minority in the Universal Church - 2%.
• THEREFORE: An influx of Romans will water down a church without a strong leader.
• THEREFORE: The only way to retain Eastern Tradition is to be unfriendly, or be lucky enough to have a powerful rector.

The Eastern Churches, particularly the Byzantine ones, could provide a strong alternative to the Novus cOrdo Establishment, but they are either wracked with ghetto mentality, martyr complexes ("The Big Bad Latin Church is so mean to us,"), or are maybe afraid to step on Western toes.

America could use a sincere (and not flighty) Byzantine version of Tom Monahan who'd build churches - all over the U.S. - and pay priestly salaries even if no one showed up. That'd get all the fat, lazy politicians in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to take notice.

There are others who could help us, too.

Provided, adding up the Copts and Ethiopians, there are less than 500,000 Alexandrian Catholics in the world; but imagine the knots the Religious Left and the NeoCatholics would tie themselves in if there was a conversion push in the West by an established hierarchy of "Tradition-and-Morality" Africans.

Could you see the conversations in the smoky backrooms of the USCCB?

Bishop Limpwrist: "The Ethiopian Church is making a push for our fallen-away members."
Arcbishop McGreedy: "That means fewer dollars for us ..."
Bishop Limpwrist: " ... and imagine what the L.A. Times will say about their theology!"
Cardinal O'Banality: "What will be said at my next Manhattan dinner party? We have to put a stop to this."
Archbishop McGreedy: "But they're ... black. What can we do? The media already thinks we hate women and caused the Holocaust, we can't take another hit."
Bishop Limpwrist: "I've got it! Dust off Bishop Wilton Gregory, we'll have him do the dirty work on this one."
Bishop Wellfed: "How about Hip Hop Masses?"
Cardinal O'Banality: "Certainly a good thought to impress the TV news, but no one will actually go. And people tempted by these archaic, obsolete rites won't be drawn in by such things."
Bishop Wellfed: "We might have to offer an Indult Mass on every-other Solemnity of St. Joseph. I know it's painful to discuss, but we can rescind it once the threat is gone."

And on and on and on ...

One from the archives

You might enjoy this picture of your host at a Pat Buchanan fund-raiser before the 2000 election, previous to the whole Reform Party thing. A fun night; I got a sound-bite on the evening news.



A few things to note:

• Still had the handlebar moustache. Ah, those were carefree days.
• Obviously, if taking part in the democratic process, I was still in my Reactionary-Jacobin phase. Thank goodness Reactionary-Monarchism freed me from all that.

Good ol' Pat. Combative Irish Catholic (one who hasn't let anyone drown) and Old Rite attendee. He'd make a good king, if he had heirs.

Anniversary; God give us a King!

Hey, my two-year blog-o-versary passed a few weeks ago, and I didn't even notice!

It ain't easy being me, I'll tell you. No respect, no respect at all. My work is so forgettable that it even slips my mind.

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There is not much to say about the blah-blah over John Roberts. He's Catholic, probably cCatholic, and doesn't have much of a written opinion trail.

Oh, wait, there is one thing: Fuss over Supreme Court nominations can be added to the list of things that make my soul scream out its desire to be ruled by the strong arm of a benevolent, yet hyper-masculine King.

Imagine the blissful tedium of knowing who's going to run the country for your entire life. And the judiciary is filled from the Lords by seniority, with no suprises. No more election nights spent praying to God and the Blessed Virgin that candidate who kills fewer babies and steals fewer dollars than the other one is the victor.

Even if pre- and post-natal rapine still take place, there is no more False Hope to shoulder. And so many reporters would lose their jobs in the Humdrum World Order, which alone is edifying.

This is THE HOLY BOREDOM.